Benjamin leaned close to Clara's ear and whispered, "I won't gamble with him if he knows how to play rummy. I'm just taking advantage of that."Clara asked, "What are you planning?"Benjamin replied, "Abigail's dad passed away when she was very young. Tom and I are like her father. Shouldn't we screen Abigail's husband for her dad now that he's here?"Clara said, "You can do that. But just don't go overboard. Anyway, I think Nathan isn't bad. He treats Abigail well. Also, I think his appearance and character are quite good."Benjamin rolled his eyes at her. "Women are so superficial. You think everything about him is good just because he's good-looking."Clara retorted, "Is it us women who are superficial, or you men? You're so old. And yet, you go to the pretty girl's live streams to give her gifts every day."Benjamin said, "That girl is really the best female gamer I've ever seen. I didn't spend much. I only send her a gift that costs one cent every day..."Clara said, "Don't
Although they hoped Xander did not win the round, they had to admit he had won, "Yes, you won!"Both Tom and Benjamin immediately poured themselves a glass of liquor and downed it.The liquor's alcohol percentage was very high and had a quick effect. As soon as Benjamin drank it, his face turned red. "Young man, you're quite lucky."Xander said, "Thank you for going easy on me."Benjamin replied, "We wanted to beat you. We didn't go easy on you."Tom said, "Young man, you were lucky last round. Be careful this time."Xander answered, "Okay."Abigail remained silent.She thought, 'Benjamin and Tom still don't know Xander is pretending to be clueless. They'll surely regret it later.'The game continued. After a few turns, Xander won again.Benjamin and Tom drank another glass of alcohol each.It might be due to luck in winning the first two rounds. But winning the third and fourth rounds required more than just luck.Tom, who was intoxicated, glared at Xander. "You know how t
Tom, who usually did not say much, had too much to drink today and became talkative. He grabbed Xander's arm and asked, "You need to tell us about your family's business, Nathan. Can Abigail have a good life with you?"Xander did not like strangers touching him. Abigail worried when she saw Tom grab him, yet Xander surprised her by not pushing Tom away. Smiling, he said, "We're into a bit of everything. I'll make sure Abigail has the life she wants."Tom slammed his hand on the table. "Everything? You're not being straight with us. You're trying to pull a fast one!"Tom's slap was loud, and Melody worried it would wake the others sleeping in the room. She grabbed Tom. "Dad, the Hart family is doing really well in Florivera. Don't worry about money for Caterpie."Tom shook off Melody. "Cassandra used to handle everything. Now that she's gone and Harvey and his wife can't be trusted, who else will worry about it if we don't?"When Harvey and his wife were mentioned, everyone in the
Abigail quickly handed Tom a tissue. "What's wrong, Tom?" she asked.Dabbing at his tears with the tissue, Tom said, "Let me tell you, Nathan, women can be pretty scary sometimes.""What are you talking about, Tom?" Jodie chimed in."I'm speaking with Nathan, please let us talk," Tom said."Nathan, don't pay any mind to what he's saying," Jodie retorted.Xander nodded. "It's alright, Mrs. Mane. I know what to take to heart and what to ignore."Tom held Xander's hand tightly, his voice getting shaky as he rambled on, "You know, before I got married, I was so excited about married life. I would see other couples holding hands, and I'd feel so jealous. The first few years of our marriage were just like that. My wife was so sweet and caring. We had tons to talk about and loads of fun things to do together. But, as time went by, especially after we had a kid, she changed. She went from being a sweet little kitten to a fierce tiger, always yelling and scolding me. Let me tell you, Nath
"I feel so wronged! I was really nice to you, and you hit me with a shoe," Tom said. He never thought about how he almost lost his wife and daughter because he was irresponsible back then.Jodie said, "If I hadn't hit you back then, you wouldn't have us in your life anymore.""What do you mean?" Tom asked."Just think about it," Jodie said. "I doubt you'll understand, though. Anyway, it's been so many years. I don't care about it anymore."How could she not care about all that? Before Melody was born, Jodie had a job. When she got pregnant, Tom asked her to quit her job to stay home with the baby. He even told her not to work anymore, just take care of Melody, and he would handle the money. They had just gotten married, were deeply in love, and Tom was still sweet to her, so she trusted him and left her job.Pregnancy was not too hard for Jodie. Though the baby was heavy and she felt tired, she could eat and sleep well, so she felt alright. However, the real challenges began after
Felix said, "How about we play a few more games? I want to see if I can beat you."Abigail replied, "No more playing. It's tough to stay up all night. You two should go sleep on the sleeping mats in the study for a couple of hours, then come back and let us sleep."Felix said, "We're two grown men; we can handle staying up. You four go get some sleep, and we'll keep an eye on things."Xander agreed with Felix. "You guys go ahead and sleep. We've got this covered."Abigail was worried about Xander's ability to stay awake, but Clara interrupted her, "Alright, you two can stay up, and we'll go get some rest for a couple of hours."The ladies all went to the study. After closing the door, Clara turned to Abigail. "Don't baby your man too much. The more you do for them, the lazier they become, and that just makes things harder for you."Jodie nodded vigorously. "Just look at Benjamin and Tom. They're like this because we spoiled them. When we first got married, he would help me cook.
Jodie said, "I'm happy you both feel this way. Nowadays, lots of women like to be on their own, and girls know more about the world. So, some people don't want to get married or have kids. I think that's okay. I respect people who want to get married and people who don't."Melody replied, "Mom, you told me last week that I should hurry and get married and have kids because I'm almost twenty-five. But now you say it's okay if I don't. What should I believe?"Jodie smiled, feeling torn. "On one hand, I want you to get married, have a family, and kids soon. But on the other hand, I worry that you'll get stuck in a marriage, with family responsibilities and kids, and it could hurt your careers. You might miss out on exploring the world."Melody said, "Don't worry, Mom. Even if Caterpie and I get married and have kids, we'll keep our jobs. We won't stay home all the time. We have lots of dreams we want to achieve."Abigail spoke up, "You might not know this, but our business is doing gr
She quit her job to be a stay-at-home mother and took care of her baby. Even though it was a tough job, many people did not give it the respect it deserved. Some people even thought stay-at-home mothers were just lazy and did not do any work. But really, everyone should be able to make their own money. That way, you could live the way you wanted without anyone else telling you what to do.Melody thought about Mrs. Burton and her own mother came to mind. She felt uneasy. Turning to Jodie, she gave her a tight hug. "Thanks for staying with me, Mom," she said.Jodie patted her shoulder. "Don't worry, sweetie. I would never do that. Life is so valuable, and we should make the most of every day."Abigail asked, "Jodie, Clara, do you remember what my mom looked like? Can you tell me?"Clara and Jodie both remembered Abigail's mother clearly. Jodie said, "I sure do remember." Clara added, "Your mom was really beautiful and had a special elegance. I see a lot of her in you."Abigail asked